Second Still in Sight; A-League

KronicalÃ‚â„¢ · 01-07-2007, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Second still in sight
Sunday, 7 January, 2007 - 11:01PM
Ben Collins, Sportal

Alen Marcina
Alen Marcina
Sydney FC coach Terry Butcher is confident his team can get back on track for a second-placed finish after suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by the New Zealand Knights.

A 16th-minute goal from Che Bunce was enough to give the Hyundai A-League's bottom club a second successive victory, despite Sydney twice hitting a post in a pulsating second half at Aussie Stadium.

The result sets up a mouth-watering clash with third-placed Adelaide United next week, with Sydney leading Adelaide by just one point with just two rounds of the regular season remaining.

Sydney could even be pushed out of the top four as Newcastle Jets, Queensland Roar and the Central Coast Mariners are still within reach of the defending champions.

"We still had to get a result there (Adelaide) anyway, and Queensland away (in the final round) is a difficult match as well so it throws it wide open and we've only got ourselves to blame," said Butcher.

"We're hurting very much at the moment and it's how we react to that defeat today that's very important. We've got to put it in in training and make sure we go to Adelaide in the right frame of mind."

"It's a big test but a test the players have responded to before and I don't see why they canÃ‚â€™t do it again."

Sydney came into the game on a nine-match unbeaten run following an impressive 2-0 win at Newcastle last week but Butcher ruled out complacency among his players.

"Everybody expected us to win but you've got to work even harder, and you've got to work hard to get into positions where you can score," he said.

"We did that, we just didn't finish the moves off, so I wouldn't say we were complacent."

"But New Zealand came in on a high. They worked very hard for the result, put bodies on the line, blocked everything and the keeper had a great game."

"We were also denied by woodwork, and in the end it just wasn't our day."

Knights coach Ricki Herbert was delighted to follow up last week's 3-1 win over Queensland Roar by upsetting the defending champions.

"I'm a Kiwi kid, and to come across the Tasman and beat a top franchise like Sydney, it's a great result for us," he said.

"It was five-zip as far as the two previous games against Sydney and we were probably not in the matches at all, but I'd like to think tonight we've contributed to (a great game)."

"Over the last couple of games, we've become accustomed to at least giving ourselves a chance in a football match," he added. "At times we've got to keep the ball, we've got to be patient and we've got to have belief."

"I think the Queensland game gave everybody in the country a breath of fresh air. It ended 2006 on a decent note for us and the guys trained really well this week."

Credit - A-League.com.au

Second Still in Sight; A-League

This is a discussion on Second Still in Sight; A-League within the European Sports forums, part of the Sports Forums category; Second still in sight Sunday, 7 January, 2007 - 11:01PM Ben Collins, Sportal Alen Marcina Alen Marcina Sydney FC coach ...